SPUDMTN

I've been paying attention to this new GS for quite some time and now that it is actually out, I have some questions for the owners (or anyone else who knows).

1.) Are the head-restraints power operated? I know that the driver's side head restraint moves up proportionally with the distance from the steering wheel. Or is this just some mechanism that can push the head restraint up as it moves back (i.e. does it not move down by means of power control)?

2.) Do the head-restraints have a tilt feature? It looks like the upholstered/padded part of the head restraint rides ontop of a molded plastic base, a la Merecedes (think C-class, CLK-class, E-class, CLS-class, etc...) that could possibly tilt outward as a "pillow" feature.

3.) Are there rear side sunshades? I know that there is a power rear sunshade, but are there manual side-shades as well?

4.) How well does the Bluetooth work? Is it integrated as nicely as Acura's HFL system? Can someone describe the exact features of Lexus' system (or give me a link to something that could describe it in detail)?

5.) How many fans are in the ventilated seats? I think the Avalon only has two large fans, one in the bottom cushion, one in the seatback. Having not experienced this system, but rather from logic, it seems that this system would not work as well as Mercedes', which uses many small fans, strategically placed throughout the seat cushions. What is your guys' experience? Does anyone know how Acura's system is designed (from the Canadian RL)?

6.) From a G3 GS owner's perspective (OWNERS only...no one else on this question, please) what made you choose the GS over the competition? Anyone seriously consider the RL? We're primarily looking at the RL and the GS really has me interested. What else did you guys consider? Lightly used BMW 745i/Li's are looking very tempting as well...so give me your opinions. Please leave bias on the doormat...

I'm done now Thanks for the help in advance

LexFather

Some of us without the car are just as knowledgable as owners with the car. You can request non-owners not to chime in, but they still may add their 2 cents.

Hopefully you get some answers from owners for your good questions.

frebay

1.) no

2.) yes

3.) no, i know the RL has them....i asked this q before.

4.) great, but not as well as the RL system. you can't edit phone entries, you can't dial by voice commands. you have to be at a stop to make a phone calls, but can answer phone calls anytime.


5.) no clue, acura doesn't have ventilated seats in the US.

6.) i can totally answer this one...my 2 choices were the RL and the GS only...no 5, E, M etc... To me, the GS looked bigger, had more street credability, more reliable, lexus doesn't have any tranny problems. Also, prior to this, i only owned acuras...so i was more biased to the RL. I am glad I purchased this car over the RL. Another minor selling point was my friends and family, when I told them I wanted to buy a 50k acura, nobody really understood why. When you tell people you are buying a 50k lexus, nobody questions it.

SPUDMTN

So the headrestraints go for the "pillow" affect, then? And the power operation is only for pushing them up?

Another question is, how do you like the drop-down console? Do you find the buttons on this console to be used frequently (like the sunshade, fuel lid, headlamp washers, etc...)? I think I'd find myself opening the thing regularly--doesn't the sunshade lower once you put it into reverse? Anyway, just a nit-pick, I know...I suppose the console is a clever little feature. It seems that Toyota and Lexus have really been into covering up controls and various buttons here lately (Avalon, GS, RX, etc...)

How would you compare the driving experience between your GS and the RL? How would you compare materials? I saw your post over on the Acura board...but I can't remember if you mentioned this much, or went into much detail. How's the noise level? Any remarkable features on the GS that you didn't find in the RL? Any remarkable features on the RL that you wish the GS had? Did you get the chance to drive an AWD version of the GS?

Sorry for all the questioning...

LexFather

To help, maybe ask some of the new owners here?
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...=151614&page=5

The other thing is maybe the RL just wasn't on their radar? I dunno.

Sandman

1) Driver's headrest moves up and down automatically in response to the seat position. There is not other automatic way to adjust this - say through a control button. If you want to change the vertical position you can do so manually by pushing a button embedded under the leather and then physically moving the headrest up or down.

2) You can also manually adjust the tilt to make the headrest closer or further from the back of your head. (Pillow feature. Just don't nap too long while driving. )

3) No side shades.

4) Have not tried this feature as I don't have a BT enabled phone.

5) Don't know the number. It is getting warmer in Atlanta but not warm enough to really want to test out the ventillaton feature. I have tried it for a few short minutes and I can feel the cool air coming up through the ventillation holes. There are 6 settings including the half numbers (1/2, 1, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, 3).

6) I owned an 01 GS300. Loved it. Only wished for just a bit more acceleration and handling capabilities. I like the Lexus philosophy. I like their attention to detail. I like the service. So if the new GS met my expectations then my decision was already stacked in favor of it. I had a 2000 TL and it was nice. I drove the new RL and it just didn't excite me. Nothing wrong with it - I mean I'm not knocking it but it just had little appeal to me. The external styling didn't move me. The interior didn't exicte me. The car seemed heavy and seemed to respond slowly. I didn't want to spend $50k either. I left the dealer and kindly told him I had removed it from my list. Infiniti puts their focus on raw performance and leave me wanting with luxury and perceived quality. I feel like I'm stepping into the Shark Tank when I walk into the Infiniti dealers in Atlanta. They all seem so hungry, not nearly as informed or professional as the Lexus dealerships. But this may be a regional thing. BMW: nice performance, arrogant sales people, don't like the ride quality or styling. Too expensive and not very reliable. So I came to the decision very biased towards Lexus. I don't know what I would have done if the GS disappointed me.

Other questions:

- Drop-down console: Really neat. I like it. You just have to remember to close it before getting out of the car. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people break this off with their knee!

- Sunshade goes down when you put the car in Reverse. Goes back up again either when you put the car back in drive or when you go over a certain speed. I have not figured out why it behaves differently sometimes - but it works well. I think that the car is easier to back up than the Gen 2 GS - better visibility.

saabfan

The RL was definitely on frebay's radar:
...and that's to whom SPUDMTN directed his query.

LexFather

Some people do not cross-shop. The GS may not be on other peoples radar for instance. That was the point I was tyring to make. Sigh......

saabfan

Yeah, there are obviously many people who don't cross-shop. SPUDMTN's follow-up questions in reference to the RL, however, were specifically directed towards frebay who cross-shopped the RL and GS.

Sorry for the confusion, but it seemed like you were telling SPUD that frebay might not have any knowledge of the RL when he clearly does.

My bad.

LexFather

lol, lets both step away from the frappachinos for a second. (Spud is gonna be pissed when he sees us in his thread)

SPUDMTN

Thank you for the informative post...it's what I was looking for. Keep 'em coming guys...or maybe not--it only makes me want to testdrive the car even more I had wondered about people just taking the pop-down console right off by means of their knee. We'll be hearing about this on here, however, if or when it does indeed happen.

What is it with Japanese car makers not wanting to put in power headrestraints? This is something the Europeans are real big on...but not Japanese. I've only seen them in the LS430. I think people would actually use the headrestraint properly if the headrestraints were power, seeing that it is a cool little feature

I'm pissed alright

BTW--thanks for some of the suggestions...it seems this thread is starting to take off, though